Stay with Me
by blackwidow73
Summary: Jealousy is amplified between Norma and Norman as Dylan helps Norma cope after she has another encounter with Caleb.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Caleb

"I'm sorry Dylan," Caleb said as he stood there watching his son just sit there in the grass.

"You need to get out of here," he flatly replied.

Dylan was still staring in the direction in which Norman had left. There was no doubt in his mind that he would tell Norma everything as soon as he returned home. It wouldn't be all truth though, there would most likely be some embellishments, anything to drive a larger wedge between him and his mother.

"But Dylan," Caleb said as he slowly approached him.

"Now!" Dylan yelled as he sat up and quickly turned to him. All he wanted was this man to get out of his life for good now.

Caleb looked to him with sympathy. He knew that he had messed things up for Dylan, but there wasn't much that he could actually do at this point. "Fine. I'll leave," he resigned.

Dylan sat there and watched him go to his van before he stood to his feet. He knew that he should go make sure that things weren't getting too bad back at home, but at the same time he really did not want to walk in on the two yelling about him. Things were going to be bad around there for a bit. And showing up right now would only make things worse. The thing to do now was wait a few minutes.

oooooo

"Where have you been?" Norma asked as soon as she heard the door slam shut, wheeling around to face the doorway.

She had been standing at the sink drying the dishes. The house had been all too quiet for her liking, and she was starting to think that maybe he had completely left. There were times where he would go down to the office to close up for the night, but this was starting to take too long.

"I have something to tell you, mother," he announced as he rushed into the room.

He had to take a moment as he came to a stop at the table. It was almost sickening how quickly he had run up those stairs to get here. Yes this information would upset Norma, it could possibly break her. As much as he did not want to see that, he knew that he would be the one that she would turn to to get her through it, and he liked that idea. He wanted to be the favorite son again, the one that she needed in her life.

Norma froze for a second, scanning his expression. There had been so many incidents lately with him not remembering this or that and bodies turning up while girls have gone missing. She was starting to think that he was about to tell her about another girl. She was ready to tell him to get into the car and tell her what happened, to point out where everything had taken place.

A small part of her was afraid that something had even happened to Emma. There was a jealousy that she held towards the young girl, one that fully consumed her every time she saw her near her son, but that didn't mean that she wanted her dead. She cared for her the way that most girls in high school seemed to care for each other. They would trash each other because one had something the other wanted, but as soon as something bad happened, they were inconsolable for a good week.

"What is it Norman?" She questioned, reaching behind her to set the towel down on the ledge of the sink.

"You'd better sit down," Norman insisted.

"Norman." She was starting to grow agitated. Her nerves were frazzled as it was, she didn't need this whole performance and what not. All she needed was to hear what it was that he had to tell her.

"Sit down mother," he ordered more harshly this time, stepping forward and grabbing onto the back of the chair.

"What is it?" She curtly questioned, taking a seat at the opposite end of the table.

Norman took a second to take a breath. His grip on the chair loosened as he allowed himself to relax. "I found out that Dylan is living with Caleb," he explained.

Norma looked to him for a moment, studying him. It was something that sounded unlikely to her. She hadn't heard from the man, surely he would have annoyed her by now, made his presence known if he were in town.

There was a part of her that chose to believe that this was a lie. It wasn't too hard for her to imagine her son hurting her like that, but she didn't want to believe it. Not with the way that things had been going lately. She already had to convince herself everyday that she wasn't slowly losing her other son to insanity. She needed Dylan. Even if she didn't want to admit it to herself, she needed some form of stability in her life to keep her somewhat sane.

Leaning forward, she laced her fingers together. She continued to study the boy before her, wondering what it was that he was capable of, and just how often it was that he would black out. It was possible that he blacked out and thought that he saw Dylan doing something. He was growing more and more jealous of the relationship that was forming between her and her oldest son.

"How would you know that?" She inquired, hesitant to act on anything he told her.

Norman was surprised. There was no yelling, no tears. She seemed to be as calm as ever. In a way it was irritating, coming to her with something that should infuriate her and all she could do was question him. He had to remind himself though that anyone in her position would want to ask questions, to make sure that what they were hearing was correct.

"I followed him back to his place. When I got there I saw the two talking," he responded, thinking that maybe she was just too stunned to realize what it was that she had heard. Perhaps she needed a moment to fully comprehend the situation.

"How did you follow him?" Norma asked, not even bothering to change her position. She was starting to grow a little worried though.

"I drove, all right?" He replied, throwing up his arms with annoyance. How was this all getting turned back onto him? He was the one doing the right there, helping her see what was happening so that she wouldn't get hurt.

Norma's eyes widened as she stood from the table, her palms flat on the surface. "You're not supposed to be driving Norman! You could have gotten yourself killed! What if you would have blacked out?" She nearly yelled.

"I don't think you understand what's happening here," he argued through clenched teeth. Norman wanted to remain calm and collected for this conversation, but that task was becoming more and more impossible.

"Dylan is living with the man that raped you!" He yelled.

She stood up straight, her expression falling as she reminded herself that she should try and make her intentions clear. She was worried about Norman, and all she wanted to do was make sure that there was no damage done, that she didn't have anything that she had to clean up tonight.

"Are you sure?"

Her tone conveyed her genuine concern as she loosely folded her arms across her chest. There were a few careful steps and once she was standing before him, she gently rested her hand on his upper arm, her other arm dropping to her side. There was a tension between the two, a distrust that she sensed from him. He was visibly upset and that hadn't been her intention.

"I just want to you to be sure of what it was that you saw."

His mouth fell agape as he swatted away her attempt to comfort him. "So what? First you and him start having these secret meetings and now all the sudden you can't trust me?"

"It's not like that!" She defensively argued.

"Then what it is like mother? Hm? Because I feel like you're playing favorites here!" Norman he accused before turning and leaving the room.

"I just need to make sure of what it was that you saw. I just want to be sure that what you saw happen, actually happened," she practically begged as she hastened to follow him. "There have been some things lately and I just want to make sure that I know exactly what happened."

Norman stopped, turning back around to face her. Those words, those lies, they made him sick. She wasn't worried about him. She was lying to him, covering up the fact that she was turning a blind eye to the faults of her new favorite son. His intentions with revealing this information weren't the purest, but he was trying to protect her and he didn't appreciate the backlash he was receiving for his help.

"I get it. You just can't stand to think that your favorite might just be using you. I see how it is," he snidely remarked. He then continued on his way, slamming the door behind him.

She remained on his trail, throwing open the door. "Norman!" She called out after him.

"I need to be alone mother!" Norman he responded without even bothering to look back over his shoulders at the woman.

"Norman! Get back here! You're overreacting!" She yelled as she started to run down the stairs after him.

It was too late though, he reached the car before she got to the bottom of the steps. Once he drove off, she was just left standing there on the middle of the staircase.

oooooo

Norma sat there in the dimly lit kitchen. She wanted to be able to do something productive, something to get her mind off of what had just occurred here. It was proving to be an arduous task, trying to forget. Every little fight was just a slap in the face, a reminder of how they were drifting apart from other, how they kept pushing each other away. The intimacy they once had was now tarnished, replaced with a never ending jealousy that loomed between them.

All she wanted was for things to be the way that they were, it was becoming apparent that was never going to happen. All they had anymore was the jealousy that they caused each other. Their lives were basically becoming one giant, twisted game of who could make the other feel worse.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the door. Instantly her head perked up as she stood to her feet, looking towards the door with anticipation.

"Norman?"

The door had been left unlocked, just in case he had come to the conclusion that his little temper tantrum had been ridiculous. As she was on her way through the small hallway, she soon learned her mistake. Her eyes full of fear as she ran over to the door to force it shut on the man who was currently trying to enter her house, Caleb.

"Go away!" Norma shrieked.

He drew in a sharp breath as the door slammed on his arm, the only thing that prevented it from closing. He needed this one last time, and there was nothing that was going to stop him from getting what he had come for.

"Please! I just want a minute!" Caleb demanded as he reopened the door.

"I will call the cops if you're not out of here in thirty seconds," Norma threatened as she took a few steps back towards the kitchen phone.

She was trying to conceal the fact that her hand was trembling, doing her best to try and show him that he didn't scare her the way that he had at one time. It of course, failed. She still felt like the same little girl that used to cower from him, giving into his desires just to keep from starting trouble.

"Shut up!" Caleb ordered as he lunged at her, taking hold of her arms and shoving her back against the wall.

The wind was knocked out of her as she tried to scream. The most that came from her was a soft whimper. Tears of frustration formed in her eyes. Her entire body paralyzed as the flashbacks from when she was younger consumed her mind. The way he would just slip into her room, climb into bed next to her and tell her that he needed a favor.

"I just need one last time," he told her, looking her straight in the eyes. His eyes made him look somewhat apologetic, as if he didn't mean to be doing this.

He wasn't sorry though. He was just sorry that she didn't want it like he did. Keeping his attention on her, he reached back and grabbed a bandana from his back pocket and proceeded to shove it into her mouth as she cried.

"I'm a wanted man Norma. After this they'll take me to jail," he casually offered as some sort of excuse. His grip tightened around her arms, bruising them as he leaned in and planted kisses down neck and chest.

She tilted back her head, tightly closing her eyes. Her fists were clenched at her sides. There was no real way of stopping what was about to happen. All she could do was suffer through and hope that it was the last.

oooooo

Dylan was well aware that it was too late to stop Norman from telling Norma about Caleb. And there was a part of him that believed that he deserved this, to be one again shunned. He was harboring the man that tormented her all those years. It wasn't as though he had no idea who he was or what he did.

Either way, he felt the urge to go apologize, to try to explain himself to his mother. She needed to know that he wasn't do this to harm her.

As he was pulling into the parking lot, he spotted the familiar van. "Shit!" he cursed to himself as he shut off the engine and hurried out of the car. He ran up to the house.

This was all his fault. He was already preparing himself to see the worst as he entered the foyer. "Norma?" He nervously called.

He turned and looked into the living room, seeing Caleb on top of Norma as he stopped in the middle of violating her. He looked as though he were a dear caught in headlights.

"Get off of her!" Dylan demanded as he took out his gun.

"It's not what it looks like!" Caleb informed him, holding up his hands. He remind on top of the woman as though he could talk his way out of this and continue on with what he was doing.

"Shut up!"

Dylan pulled the trigger, realizing that this man would never really leave Norma alone. If he was this determined to come back and pick back up their one sided relationship, there was no guarantee that he would vanish after this. He was a disgusting man anyways, it wasn't as though anyone would miss him.

Norma pulled out the cloth from her mouth screamed as the man fell off of her and onto the ground. She scurried to sit up, her body still shaking from the experience. Her eyes were glued to the puddle of blood forming around Caleb for a moment before they darted over to Dylan.

"I'm sorry," Dylan said, stepping further into the room.

This was all his fault. He should have told Norma that Caleb was back in town, he should have told the police what this man was capable of doing. He even told him that he was a wanted man, all he had to do was go to the police and they would have taken the man into custody right away without asking any questions.

"Why was he here?" Norma asked trying her best to steady her voice.

"I was only gonna let him stay with me a couple of nights. His van broke down," he answered.

Her body suddenly filled with rage as she stood to her feet. The action caused her physical pain but it didn't compare to the betrayal that she felt.

"That didn't seem at all suspicious to you?" She harshly questioned, the tears still running down her cheeks.

He was about to try and somehow defend himself, but he was reminded of the body as he caught a glimpse of the blood. "Look, it's done! Alright? You can yell at me about it later."

"Right now we gotta call the cops and get this taken care of," he explained. He was about to fetch his phone from his pocket, but Norma went to his side.

"No," she pleaded, taking hold of his wrist. She took a step back and wiped her face. She knew that Dylan was in the right to shoot him, but she had to think of the long term effects here. Things were already against her and Norman as it was, she didn't need this complicating things.

"Romero already thinks Norman and I are suspicious. The last thing he needs is to come here and clean up another dead body. The whole freaking town would know about it before morning," she anxiously informed him.

Besides that, she could not bare the thought of everyone knowing. This was something that she had wanted to take to her grave, the way that he treated her, what her oldest son really was. She knew that it wasn't her fault, but there was still that shame that she felt. It made her feel weak. That was the last thing that she needed to feel right now with everything that was happening.

Dylan sighed. He knew that Norma would want to make things harder. It was just the way she was. And he did understand where she was coming from, he knew what was going on with Norman and that this could somehow bring about more suspicion than needed.

However, he also understood that secrets have a way of coming out, no matter how hard people try to keep them. Something like this was going to be made public sooner or later. Caleb Calhoun was a wanted man and the police would be looking for him, they would be looking for that van parked right out front, they would be coming to his family to try and pry answers from them. It would better to just come out and tell them what happened so that they wouldn't be pinned for murder.

"He trespassed and raped you Norma. I had every right to shoot him," he explained. "The police are looking for him anyways. They already know what kind of man he is. It's not like you would get in trouble."

He wasn't understanding and it scared her. She was desperate to try and cling onto the life that she was doing her best to build for her and Norman. The motel was in danger as it was, she needed everything to just be swept under the rug.

"Listen to me. No one can know about this, alright? Romero doesn't need another reason to be snooping around here. Norman doesn't need one more thing to worry about. Please Dylan!" She implored, grabbing his shoulders. "Like you said, he's a wanted man. It wouldn't be weird for him to just disappear, would it?"

"Alright fine, but we gotta do this right. I'll take care of the body, the van, and the rug all at once. All you have to do is clean any blood left and change," he instructed.

"Just make sure we get this all done before Norman gets back home. He doesn't need to know about this," she firmly stated.

This wasn't something that should be all that rushed, but Dylan understood. "Just go do what you need to do. I can take care of this alone," he said, eyeing the room to quickly figure out everything that needed to be taken care of.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Done

The orange flames cast a glow in the dark evening as Dylan steps back from the van, watching the fire consume it. It's weird, knowing that his father is in there being cremated. Caleb had crossed a line though. He had faked his sorrow just to get the chance to go right back to what he had done when he was younger.

Only twelve hours ago, he thought that maybe he had a chance of growing closer to his father. There might have been a chance of him having both of his parents in his life.

It was all a lie. He had used him. Caleb never had any intentions of being a real father to him.

Sighing, he shook his head. Dylan wanted to go back to the house and check on Norma, but he had to stick around to make sure that the fire didn't get out of control. The last thing they needed was for the fire to spread to house, and maybe even the motel.

oooooo

Her skirt landed on the floor around her ankles, her blood splattered sweater not too far from her crumpled on the ground. Traces of his blood were still on her hands and knees. Some of her own even mixed with his as it trickled from between her thighs.

Absent mindedly reaching for her robe, she spotted the scar along on her leg, a reminder of everything that she had gone through as a child. That was the worst part of all of this. No matter what they did, he had made sure to leave his mark on her. They even so much as had a son together. It was impossible for her to ever completely escape Caleb.

Norma was about to reach for the scar, lightly brush her fingertips over the damaged skin. Almost by instinct she flinched away from it. That was when she decided that it would be best to finish getting everything cleaned up for when Norman finally returned home. She wasn't about to sit down and tell him about everything that happened, he had enough that he was worrying about at the moment.

Quickly, she went and scooped up her clothes to dispose of them. As she did so, she thought back to the first time that she had thought she escaped her older brother.

1988

Norma paced in the bathroom as she waited for the results of the pregnancy test. At the time, she didn't really think it was possible. It just seemed like something that was too bad to happen, like the world suddenly just ending or the sun randomly exploding. Those events just were not expected to occur.

And if there was somehow a baby, wouldn't it be too messed up to really survive? It was her brother's for godsake. She shouldn't even expect to carry that thing for more than a couple of months.

Those were the things she told herself to keep somewhat sane as she awaited the answer. The problem was that she knew she was lying to herself. If she had fully believed any of that, she wouldn't even be taking this test. The fact of the matter was, was that there was a good chance she was pregnant and there was a chance that she would start showing before she miscarried it. She had to start thinking of ways to tell her family. Come up with some story to tell them to keep them from finding out about her and Caleb.

Not that she didn't want Caleb to get into trouble. She had always kind of hoped that maybe her father would find out about him and send him off somewhere. That was nothing but wishful thinking. He would only get mad at her and punish both of them.

Coming to a stop, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It had to be time to check the results. It certainly felt as though more than just a few moments had passed. Once she opened her eyes, she thickly swallowed. She slowly turned, hesitating as she reached out to grab the stick with a shaky hand.

"Shit."

She had meant to say it with more anger, to sound more annoyed than anything, but it was only a small whimper, a cry. Her entire body went numb and she felt as though the ground had fallen out from under her. If she hadn't spent the entire morning vomiting, she was sure she would have thrown up this second.

It only took seconds for her to start panicking, her mind rushing to look for some solution to the problem. There had to be a way to get out of this, there was always a way, right?

The young girl was brought back from her thoughts as she heard a car pull up out front. Her father. He must have gotten out of work early today.

She needed to hide that test from him. If he saw that there was no doubt that he would have questions and she wasn't ready to deal with it yet. She at least needed a couple of days to come to terms with what happened.

The small scare had caused her to drop the test from her hand down to the floor. She scurried to retrieve it, attempting to slide it into pockets that she forgot she didn't even have. Once that failed she quickly pulled at the top of her shirt and stuffed the stick into her bra. It was noticeable, but decidedly better. So she opened the door, crossed her arms over her chest and hastened to her bedroom where she would hide the stick under her mattress.

It only took her a couple hours in her room alone, but she figured out what it was that she was going to do, and that night she headed over to her boyfriend, John's house.

She walked up to the house wearing the sexiest dress that she could find in her closet. It was a light pink, somewhat low cut dress that fit perfectly. It was short sleeved and the skirt came to her knees. Along with her dress, she did the very best that she could with her hair and makeup, attempting to cover up the fact that she had been crying earlier.

Reaching the porch, she took a moment to gather her composure. She was still somewhat shaken, but she knew that she needed to make this work. She reached out and rung the doorbell, hoping that his parents weren't home. And if they were, they would just have to find somewhere else.

"Norma?" He asked as he opened the door.

She tightly smiled. "I was wondering if you were free tonight."

John looked back over his shoulder before stepping out onto the porch. "Yeah, I'm free," he replied.

"Well let's go then," she replied, playfully grabbing his hands and starting to lead him to his car.

oooooo

The darkness surrounded Norman as he drove down the dirt road. He was isolated, the way that he preferred it. There was nothing to distract him out here, not that anything could when he was like this.

All he knew was that he had to find Caleb and bring him to his mother, dead. He needed to be the one to protect her, prove to her that he wasn't insane. So he was driving back to Dylan's thinking that he still had to be there.

He stomped on the brakes as soon as he pulled up to the house and put the car into park. The idea of turning off the ignition or even the lights was lost as he rushed out of the car.

"Caleb!" Norman angrily shouted.

There was no answer, but he didn't mind. To him that was nothing more than an invitation to storm into his house.

"I know you're here!" He yelled as he reached the door. As he tried to open it, he realized it was locked. Instead of turning around and leaving, he started beating the door, trying his best to break it down.

"Hey!" Gunner called out as he saw Norman.

Norman didn't even register that someone was talking to him. He just continued beating the door until it finally broke and he stormed in, still calling after Caleb.

Gunner ran towards Norman. "What the hell's wrong with you?" He asked as he got to the door. He quickly grabbed Norman's shoulders and pulled him away from the door, forcing him to face him.

"Let go of me!" He demanded as he pushed Gunner away from him.

"Caleb's not even here!" Gunner yelled. "He left a while ago."

Norman paused, looking to him with disbelief. "Where'd he go?" He asked, his voice filled with a sense of urgency.

"I don't know," he replied, looking to him with concern, watching him begin to leave. "Everything okay?"

Norman didn't even acknowledge the fact that he was being asked a question. The only thing that was important to him was getting back home. He wasn't sure that he thought the man had decided to go to there, but he knew that he wanted to be with Norma and protect her. Even if she didn't want to be protected he had to do something.

oooooo

Norma sat in the kitchen, her hands wrapped around the hot cup of coffee. Her palms were burning, but she didn't mind. It was a failed distraction with her mind still trying to grasp what it was that happened tonight.

She wasn't a little girl anymore, this wasn't supposed to be happening. She's an adult now, she should have been able to fight him, to say no and let him know that she meant it. There was nothing different from tonight than any of the nights from nearly thirty years ago.

Her grip tightened as she heard Dylan enter the room. Although he had helped her tonight, she wasn't so sure that she could look at him right now. Lifeless eyes focused onto the steam leaving the cup, evaporating into the air as if it were nothing, as meaningless as she currently felt.

Dylan lingered in the doorway, eyeing her with concern. The silence was uncomfortable, but he didn't want to rush to speak, to say the wrong thing. He was on thin ice as it was.

"It's all taken care of," he said, taking a few steps into the room.

"Thank you," she flatly mumbled down towards the table.

Dylan wanted to say something further, but instead he thickly swallowed as he nodded. There was so much that he should have said, such as sorry or that at least it was all over now, for good. But he couldn't.

Norma could feel him watching her, studying her. She didn't need this right now, this pity. It was obvious that he was sorry and that was all fine and great. There was no apology that would ever take away what happened. He betrayed her and made her feel like an idiot.

Lifting her head, she sighed. Her gaze remained forward. "You can leave now," she coldly stated. "We'll talk about this tomorrow."

Tomorrow. That meant that she wasn't completely cutting him out of her life. At least he had that. "Alright," he said before turning and leaving.

Once she heard the door close behind him, she carefully stood from her seat and took her cup over to the sink. Paranoia set in and she made sure to glance at the back door and the window, just making sure that she was alone. There was no real reason as to why there should be someone else there, but she didn't have the best of luck. She was halfway tempted to run upstairs and grab her gun, but all she had to do was rinse her cup and then she could head up there for the night.

"You mind telling me what Dylan was doing here?" Norman demanded as he slammed the door behind him.

Norma closed her eyes. This was not what she needed right now. All she wanted was to finally have a few hours of being unconscious.

"He followed Caleb here. Made sure to kick him out of town," she answered, hoping that it would suffice.

Some part of her wanted to tell Norman that he had been killed. The only problem with that was that there would be questions. He would ask what happened prior to the trigger being pulled.

"He's the one who betrayed you by keeping him here!" Norman yelled as he entered the kitchen.

He could not believe that his mom was handling this the way she was. Dylan had hurt her. He pretty much lead her abuser to this house. And here she was acting calm? Did she even kick Dylan out?

"It's over, Norman," she sighed with exasperation as she started towards the front door. "What do you want me to say?" She inquired as she passed him.

Norman turned and watched as she locked the door. "I want you to be angry! He hurt you, mother!"

Norma, who was about to head to the staircase paused, facing him. "Look, if this is about earlier, I'm sorry that I didn't believe you. Alright? I should have believed you and I didn't. You happy now?" She implored, her agitation obvious.

"No!" Norman quickly answered. He started towards her, pointing accusingly. "You're refusing to acknowledge the fact that your new favorite betrayed you and it's insane!"

"I'm not in the mood to deal with this crap right now. Caleb's gone and Dylan's not here either. So you're not getting the tantrum you want right now," she explained as she made it to the stairs.

"So that's it?" He inquired, his eyes glued to her as he stood beside the banister.

"I'm going to bed, Norman," she responded, slowly climbing the staircase.

oooooo

It was harder getting to sleep than she thought it would be. Laying in bed alone the silence was suffocating her. There was nothing to distract her from the thoughts running through her mind, threatening to punish her with a restless sleep full of nightmares that would bring forth the toxic memories that would always plague her.

She stared blankly into the darkness. She was starting to wonder how much time had passed. Perhaps it was close enough to dawn to just get up and start the day. It wasn't like she was about to get any sleep. And at least that way she could be getting something productive done.

The door creaked as it opened, causing Norma to quickly turn her attention to it. "Norman?" She asked, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the light flooding in from the hall.

Norman stood there, watching her for a second before he spoke. "I want to apologize for earlier," he began.

Norma sat up and shook her head. "You were trying to warn me and I didn't listen," she stated. "I'm sorry."

Nodding, he got the hint that things were okay between the two of them. That was all he really wanted. Knowing this though, he decided that it would be all right to go ahead and join her. It was something that he had been wanting to do for a while now. Ever since Dylan had told Norma that she shouldn't be sharing a bed with her son, she hadn't been allowing him to lay with her which was making it harder for him to sleep.

He closed the door and went over to the bed where he sat down on the edge. Looking to her, he awkwardly began to fidget with his hands, playing with the fabric of the blanket.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened when Caleb got here?" He questioned, his eyes focusing on his hands. Once his words were out, he looked up to his mother. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

The sudden seriousness in Norman's voice took her by surprise. Sitting up, she eyed him with concern. "No. Why'd you ask?" She asked, hoping that there weren't any bruises or cuts that she didn't notice.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You seemed weird," he mentioned, hoping to buy himself an excuse for his earlier behavior.

Norma's expression softened as she sighed. It was obvious that he was trying to ease his way back into bed with her. He wanted to start this conversation, stay the night. She should tell him to go back to his room, but in all honesty, she missed those nights herself. She missed having the one person that she trusted in this world wrap his arms protectively around her as she slept. It made her feel secure.

Scooting over to give him room, she shook her head. "Nothing happened," she assured him. "He just came here begging for a second chance and Dylan came and got him to leave."

The teenager softly smiled and climbed into the bed with her. He got under the covers and offered her a look of sympathy. "Well if he does come back, I'll make sure nothing happens," he promised.

No one else ever made those promises to her and meant it. Everyone else had ended up hurting her somehow, but not Norman. Maybe she was a little too close to him, but he was all she had.

"I know," she replied with a worn smile, reaching over and pulling him in for a hug.

Norman smiled, wrapping his arms around her and holding her. They were all each other really had when it came down to it. He only ever really had her. Growing up his father was abusive, he never really had friends and she would smother him. He had to protect her though, if he lost her, he wasn't all too sure of what he would do.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Aegis

It was mechanical, the way that she stood there making breakfast. Norma had gotten very little sleep the previous night and was running on autopilot. She didn't even want to be up right now, making breakfast. All she wanted was to do something, anything at all to try and forget.

That was not an option though. If Norman knew what had happened, he would lose it. He could possibly blackout and go looking for Caleb. It would only leave her with more problems, something that she was doing her best to avoid.

The soreness in her thighs and up through her back lingered from yesterday. She had taken a few aspirin, but nothing seemed to be helping it. Part of her thought that maybe it would get better if she could focus her mind on the arduous daily tasks of her morning routine. Nothing seemed to be catching her attention though. Her face looked slightly off due to the fact that she had messed up her eye make up multiple times. Her hair was slightly messy simply because she grew impatient of standing in front of the mirror. She wore a dress that was a couple sizes too big for her, it was the only thing that she was actually comfortable wearing.

"Good morning mother," Norman greeted as he walked into the room.

The sudden sound made Norma jump, the plate that she was holding shattered as it fell to the ground. She shuddered at the crash. It took her a second to gather her composure, briefly shutting her eyes as she wheeled around to face her son.

"Good morning," she replied, forcing a smile. "Let me just get a broom and then I'll finish fixing breakfast. Make sure you don't step in this."

"I didn't mean to scare you, mother," Norman responded.

The young man carefully eyed her. He was hesitant to move, not wanting to draw any attention to himself. There had been something off with Norma ever since he returned home last night, and he couldn't figure out what it was.

Last night her sleep was restless, he would wake up every time she had started tossing and turning. Normally when the two shared a bed, she would linger in the morning, they would talk before she got up and went on with her morning rituals. This morning she seemed to jump out of bed pretty quickly. She even woke up a lot earlier than usual.

"I noticed you woke up rather early today," he mentioned as casually as he could.

"You try sleeping well after someone like Caleb comes to your house," she snapped as she grabbed the broom out of the closet. She then froze, looking over to Norman and sighing. "I'm sorry."

"I tried to warn you," Norman told her, still upset about last night.

Norma stood there, staring to him. He didn't know everything that had happened, but it still stung having him be cold towards her like this. "I know, I should have believed you," she replied, frustrated with having to deal with his remarks. Nonetheless she tightly smiled and went to clean the mess. "Why don't you just take something quick. That way you can get down to the office on time," she suggested.

Being alone sounded like a horrible idea right now, but she had something that she needed to do, and there was no way that Norman could be there to witness it. It would bring up too many questions and what he needed to do now was focus on himself. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him, and subjecting to the awful truth from last night would surely push him over the edge.

"Oh, so now you want to get rid of me," he remarked as he stood from his chair.

"You know that's not true," Norma defensively replied.

Lately everything had to be a fight between them. All she wanted was for today to go by quickly and quietly, but it seemed as though she couldn't even have that..

"I just want to make sure that we don't miss any guests. We can't afford to turn people away right now," she said as she turned her back to him and mindlessly went back to fixing breakfast. "How about I bring down something for both of us? We can eat together in the office."

Norman glared to her for a moment. "What is wrong with you, mother?" He asked, his frustration ringing clear in his voice.

Norma slightly stiffened at the question, but she made sure to turn around and face him. She had to at least act nonchalant about the whole thing. "You know exactly what happened Norman, what do you want me to tell you?" She questioned.

"Whenever you decide you can trust me again, you can come talk to me down in the office," he harshly stated before turning and leaving.

She stood there a moment, just watching him leave. For the first time in a while she did not know what to say to him. Most times she knew what to tell him to get him to stay, but right now there was nothing. The most she could do was give him some time and hope that he came to his sense.

oooooo

Norman sat down in the office. There wasn't much for him to do with there being no guests, so he had the time to sit there and dwell on what had happened. All he wanted was to be included. He was so used to being the favorite son and now Dylan was here making him feel as though he were the third wheel and it wasn't fair. He was the one that had stayed with Norma this entire time. He was the one that had put up with her impulsive decisions - buying a motel, moving to a new state, moving every time something bad happened.

Dylan was the one that ran away when he was younger. He was the one that suddenly returned, and it was only because he had nowhere else to go.

All it showed him was that his loyalty meant nothing to her. It showed him how easily he could be replaced. It was a lie everytime that she told him that she still liked him. And really, he couldn't blame her, he was blacking out and confusing reality with the delusions. He supposed he had to be a handful. She was probably giving up on him.

"Good morning," Emma greeted in her usual chipper manner.

She stopped before the desk, looking to the boy with concern. Norman looked as though he were plotting something. He looked completely out of touch with his surroundings. It was making her wonder if he was experiencing another one of his blackouts.

"Norman?" She asked, carefully taking a few steps towards him.

Norman jerked his head up, his eyes immediately meeting hers. A forced smile tugged at the corners of his lips. If his mother didn't need him, then he didn't need her, and he was about to prove it.

"Good morning, Emma," he responded.

"Are you okay? You look a little distracted," Emma inquired.

"Yeah! I'm fine," he replied a little too over enthusiastically.

Norman stood from his seat that desk and walked around to stand before his girlfriend. His smile grew a bit more genuine as he looked to her, taking a second to formulate the question in his mind.

"I was actually wondering if you wanted to go out for the day? Maybe take off and go see a movie or something," he offered. "I think we can afford to take the day off."

Emma slightly laughed as she looked off towards the door. It was nice, the idea of spending the day with him on an actual date. At the same time though, she figured that they should get permission from Norma. And it should be something a little more planned out in advance. At least a day in advance.

"I don't think it's a good idea to just leave like that," she replied.

"You think the guests will miss us?" He questioned, trying to encourage her to leave with him.

Emma sighed. She really wanted to go along with this, but she just couldn't do that. It was unfair to Norma. And there was a small chance that there might possibly be a guest.

"Aren't you supposed to be responsible now since you're the manager?" She asked.

"Everyone needs a day off," he told her.

Emma rolled her eyes and turned to head towards the back room. "We'll talk to your mom. She should at least have some notice that we're leaving for the day. Then tomorrow we can do whatever we want."

"Fine, we'll do it your way," he said.

He was actually glad that she wanted to talk to Norma about it. He would get to see the look on her face when she found out that he can replace her just the same way she replaced him. If she wanted to play games, he could play too.

oooooo

Norma went up into her room, knowing that would be where she would find the picture. It was the only one that she owned and she wasn't sure if she wanted to look at it or if she wanted to burn it, to destroy it and just forget about everything.

On first thought, she wanted to destroy it. She wanted rip it apart. The picture itself held a happy memory, but all of that was tarnished the second that he touched her. She wished that she could focus on the good, but lately it was just too much work to even try. Everytime she looked at his face she only remembered the pain that he caused her.

Standing on her tiptoes, she reached to the back of the shelf in her closet and retrieved the shoebox. She carried it over to her bed and sat down, eyeing it with a bittersweet smile. The box was set down beside her, her fingertips lightly tracing the edge of the lid as she hesitated to open it.

Finally opening it, she scanned the items in the small container. There were two light blue baby hats, the hats that Norman and Dylan came home from the hospital in, a love letter from Sam, her wedding ring from John.

There was one picture from her childhood that she had kept this entire time. She was twelve years old, wearing a Snow White costume. It was a small musical that the middle school had done, and she got the lead part. It wasn't much, but it meant the world to her back when it happened.

A faint smile touched her lips as she gingerly took hold of the photo. She could remember everything so clearly, it was something engraved on her mind.

The morning of her audition she stood in front of the bathroom mirror, making sure that she looked perfect. She had on her little pink dress. It wasn't anything too special, just a simple sundress, but it was the best thing that she had. And to match it, she took a light pink ribbon and tied her hair back with it.

After school she went into the gym and sang the song My Blue Heaven by Frank Sinatra. It was a bit different from the songs that the other kids were singing, but it was one of her favorites. The most important thing was that it worked, it got her the part of Snow White.

The rehearsals that took place over the next month were what kept her sane. She celebrated her thirteenth birthday with the cast, the only time that she ever really had a birthday party. It was time that she got to spend away from the household that was a living nightmare. It made her realize how happy she could be.

Once the weekend came for them actually perform, she was somewhat upset. It meant the end for her. No more would she have this group of people to go to everyday after school. Sure she could do things with these people outside of the play, but she was realistic, she wouldn't really remain all that close to any of them. She would go back to being somewhat of a loner.

The only nice thing about that weekend was that she got to be the center of attention. At least, she got that from her classmates and the other audience members. Caleb came to one of the showings, but that was it. She knew not to expect her parents to be there, but it did bother her a bit that everyone else could be happy for her, that everyone else could cheer her on, but not her own parents.

Either way, she went home with flowers from both shows. She kept them in her room, even after they died as a small reminder. They were there on her dresser for about a month.

It wasn't until the first time that Caleb had raped her that she got rid of the flowers. Crying, hurt, angry, she stormed into her room and threw both vases full of flowers onto the ground, falling to her knees in front of the shattered mess.

Thirty years ago and she could still feel the same pain, the sensation of the shards cutting into her knees, the way that it didn't compare to the betrayal and loneliness that she had felt that night.

Setting the picture down onto her dresser, she decided that it didn't matter anymore. Where ever that other photograph was, it wouldn't affect her. Regardless of the items, the memories would still remain.

"What's that?"

Norma looked back over her shoulder and saw Dylan standing in the doorway. She wasn't too mad at him. Sure he kept Caleb here, but he also saved her. He showed her that ultimately he chose her over him. That meant a lot to her.

"Just an old picture," she flatly explained, slowly turning her attention back to the picture. "I was in a musical once. It was stupid."

To Norma it was anything but stupid. It was one time in her life where there was more good than bad. Her father was bad, but she wasn't around him too much, her and Caleb were still getting along. It was one time that she had friends.

Dylan could see that she was having some sort of moment, but he needed to make sure that she knew how sorry he was. He had to check up on her and make sure that she was okay.

"I just wanted to see how you were," he awkwardly stated, taking a few careful steps into the room. He glanced off towards the side, not really sure what to do with himself. "See if you needed anything."

"I'm fine," she sharply answered, a bitter strain in her voice.

Dylan nodded, not sure if this was the point in which he should leave. "Just call me if you need anything. I'll be at the cabin," he told her.

Norma looked up to him, watching him as he waited to leave. Her expression softened as she stood, dropping the picture back into the box. "Thank you," she said before walking over and wrapping her arms around him.

It took him a moment to react to the action. Once he did though, he loosely returned the hug. At least now he knew that she wasn't so upset with him. Things were okay between them.

She pulled back from the hug and offered him a smile before she exited the room. She had to get back downstairs and start working on something, anything to try and make it feel like a somewhat normal day.


	4. Chapter 4

**A special thanks to my friend Hayley for showing me the movie Flesh and Blood, the one used in this chapter. And thanks to her baby, Suzanne Pleshette, for picking amazing movies to be, such as a movie about incest. **

Chapter 4: A Little Problem

"What do you think about this?" Emma questioned, holding up a small black dress with a skirt that slightly flared out.

The sound of the young girl's voice brought her back from her thoughts. She had been sitting in the back of the office trying to work on the budget when Emma came back to ask her opinion on a couple of things she had bought.

There wasn't any time for her to be wasting, but it wasn't like she was able to getting anything done anyways. Norma's mind had been wandering. It was hard to concentrate. There were a lot of things that had been going unnoticed by her, past due bills that she would rush to scrounge up money for at the very last minute, damages done to a couple of the rooms.

"Look at that," she replied, offering a half smile that failed at veiling the pure exhaustion in her glazed eyes.

She stood and walked over to her, feeling the fabric of the new dress between her fingers. Her eyes moved to follow the silhouette of the form fitting outfit.

It was hard for her, knowing that this dress would be used to try and impress her son. It lit a small flame a jealousy within her. There had to be a show of normalcy though. And it wasn't as if she held any disdain towards the young girl, she actually cared about her. Even when she was being nosy. She just didn't care for the fact that she was trying to take her son away from her.

"You buy this for a special occasion?" Norma asked, desperately clinging onto her smile as she continued to examine the garment.

Emma smiled in response. It meant a lot to her that Norma approved. All she wanted was to be included in this little family. They went through a lot, but she wanted to be included. No one else here really treated her as nicely. Most people seemed to either avoid her, ignore her.

"Just whenever," she replied with a shrug.

She folded the dress and placed it back into the bag. Although she was happy right now, there was still something that had been bothering her for a bit. There was something wrong. All three of the family members had been acting weird.

Returning to her seat at the front desk, Emma looked back to see Norma still standing there, her eyes fixated on the bag. It looked like she was mentally somewhere else, there was something that was worrying her.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, a genuine concern visible in her eyes.

As soon as she heard the question she moved to act casual. The last thing that she needed right now was to have Emma prying. She didn't even like thinking about the whole situation let alone talking about it. Besides, she didn't need anyone else knowing what happened. Dylan had taken care of everything. It was done.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" She responded as enthusiastically as she could manage.

"You just seem like you're preoccupied," Emma answered.

Norma shrugged before turning and making her way back to her seat in the back room. "I'm a little tired, that's all."

Emma turned in her chair to fully face the woman. As convincing as she sounded, it still didn't fool her. There was something going on around here.

"Norman's been acting weird too. I figured there was something wrong," she added.

Although she had known that Norman was acting different lately, and why he was that way, the mention of his behavior still piqued her interest.

"What's he doing?" She inquired, trying to hide the anxiety slowly building within her. There was this chance that he was blacking out more often or doing things that would bring attention to himself.

"He just seems like he's not there," she started as she began to play with the hem of her skirt. "Kind of irritable."

He was acting a lot like Norma was at the moment, but she didn't want to come out and say that. Something told her that it would only annoy Norma.

"I'll talk to him when he gets home then," Norma curtly replied, not really knowing what else to say.

It felt like anything she said now would be questioned. It would be used to make some sort of assumption. All she wanted to do was end this conversation and try to get back to the tasks that she knew she wouldn't complete. Not anytime soon at least.

Emma just nodded before turning back around in her chair. It was frustrating when things got like this, something happening and her having no idea what it actually was that was wrong. What made matters worse was that her own boyfriend wasn't even talking to her. He should have been able to tell her anything.

oooooo

Dylan sat in his room at the house. A couple of weeks after the incident with Caleb, Norma had asked him to move back in with them. He took some time to think about it, with everything going on back at the farm, but he eventually decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea.

The only thing that bothered him here was Norman. He didn't seem to be mad at him anymore, they would have normal conversations. He even told him that he had forgiven him. However, he still seemed mad over events that had taken place a little over a month ago. He would catch Norman glaring at Norma here and there. He was still mad that he didn't know what had happened that night. He was jealous of him.

He felt uncomfortable more than anything. It was as though were stepping in on someone else's territory, like he was some outsider. That was what he received from Norman at least. Norma, on the other hand, seemed to love having him back home. She was stressed, more so than usual. He would be the one to remind her of things that had to be done and even did a few of her chores for her.

A part of him still felt guilty. He was the reason that Caleb was staying in town, and no one could convince him otherwise. All he wanted was to be able to get to know his father. That shouldn't have involved putting his family in danger. He supposed that he truly did have to choose though, between his parents.

He was in the middle of reading as he heard Norma and Norman begin to fight. Sighing, he set the book down on the bed beside him. It was common to hear them fight lately. They were either at each other's throats or getting along too well for his liking. Then again, there was never an in between for them.

"Fine! I suppose I'm just completely unnecessary then!" Norman yelled.

That was when Dylan decided it was time to get up and go intervene. He headed over to the door and looked out into the hall to see his brother storming out of the bathroom.

"What the hell's going on?" He questioned, looking to him with apprehension.

Norman stopped and turned to him for a second. He looked to him, snarling with disgust. "Why don't you ask her? She'll talk to you!" He spat before starting down the stairs.

Dylan rushed to follow Norman, grabbing his arm and stopping him on the middle

of the staircase.

"What is wrong with you?" He demanded.

He pretty much knew what was going on here, but he wanted to hear from his brother what it was that was upsetting him so badly. He had been acting like a brat lately and it was even starting to annoy him.

"I'm not the one acting irrationally here! She's the one that's pushing me away for no good reason!" Norman argued, motioning towards the top of the staircase.

"Let him go Dylan," Norma weakly instructed. She stood, leaning onto the railing right outside of the bathroom door as she watched the two, dark circles encasing her eyes. "He needs to get down to the office before Emma goes on her break."

Norman looked up to her, a longing in his eyes behind the anger. All he wanted was to go back to how things used to be between them, to being the one that she told everything to. He saw that she wasn't feeling well and it hurt him that she wouldn't let him take care of her. It felt to him that she didn't want to be anywhere near him lately.

"Why don't you send Dylan?" Norman asked. Realistically he knew that it was a ridiculous question, but he wanted to stay here.

"Because you're the manager Norman. Now go do your job," she sharply told him.

Dylan stood there, looking between the two as they talked. Once Norma told Norman to leave, he let go of his arm, watching as he continued down the stairs, sulking.

It wasn't until Norma was sure that he was gone that she felt comfortable turning her attention back to Dylan and asking a favor. "I need you to do something for me," she told him.

Dylan looked up to her, concerned. "What is it?" He cautiously inquired. He has this feeling that this was going to be something that he would hate.

Norma sighed. This wasn't easy for her, but she needed to know. She needed to finally do something about the situation. Once she had her answers, she was sure that she would feel better.

She took a second, sucking in her bottom lip as she canted her head at a slight angle. "I need you to go pick up a pregnancy test for me," she requested.

A pregnancy test. The woman expected him to run to the store, purchase a pregnancy test, and bring it back home for her.

"Mom," he sighed, looking to her with disbelief. Partially because he couldn't believe that that was even a possibility, and also because he has no idea what he even had to look for.

"Dylan please. I can't. I can't deal with anyone asking questions right now," Norma pleaded.

"I don't know," he said with an exasperated sigh.

oooooo

Sighing, he made his way through the store, trying to get to the register as fast as possible. In his hand he held the first test that he had spotted on the shelf. Perhaps he should have taken the time to look through them and find a decent one, but he wasn't all too sure what a good test was. They all seemed the same to him. All of them did the same exact thing.

This was the last thing that Dylan wanted to be doing today, but he knew that Norma wasn't about to go out and buy one herself. He also figured that if she saw that she wasn't pregnant, that it could lessen the tension. Of course, there was the off chance that was, in which case things would only get worse. He just could not bring himself to believe that there was a baby.

"Dylan?"

The familiar voice coming from behind him made him internally cringe.

"Emma?" He asked, turning around to face her. A nervous laugh was emitted from his lips as he tried his best to act natural. "What are you doing here?"

The young girl smiled as she approached him. As of lately he had become one of her better friends, at least that was how she saw him. And there were some deeper feelings, ones that she didn't care to admit since she was dating his little brother. Either way, she was happy to see him.

As she caught up to him, she held up a bag of chips. "I figured that I would take my hour to go out and get something since Norman seemed to want to be alone," she explained.

Once she stopped, her eyes moved to inspect the item in Dylan's hand. Once she saw what it was, her smile faded. They weren't dating or anything, but the fact that he could be buying that for a girl that he messed around with bothered her. It shouldn't have, but it did.

Dylan saw as she moved her attention from the test to him, perplexed. "It's not for me," he said, an ill attempt to ease the awkwardness that had fallen between them.

"I think that's kinda obvious," she replied, forcing a small laugh. "You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but who is it for?"

"Just for a friend. She didn't want anyone asking questions until she knows for sure," he informed her, hoping that it was enough of an answer.

"I see," she flatly replied.

Dylan could sense that she was a little hurt and wanted to just try and get out of here. He would tell her more later when everything was settled.

"Here, I'll buy this for you," he told her as he took the bag from her hands.

"You don't have to do that," she argued as she went to take back the item.

He lifted it higher and turned to continue on his way towards the registers. "It's a couple dollars. And this way I won't feel weird having to use my card to just pay for one item."

oooooo

Norman sat in the office, watching a movie that he found online. There was no business, nothing to do, and he had finished his homework. It was an old movie about a mother and son from the late seventies starring Suzanne Pleshette and Tom Berenger. He wasn't even sure how he ended up watching this movie, but something about it was appealing to him.

He contently stared at the screen as Suzanne sat in the chair by the Christmas tree, a drink in her hand as she smiled to Tom Berenger.

"_Yeah. Well you look beautiful." - Tom Berenger _

"_Well I got myself a new dress." - Suzanne Pleshette_

"_Yeah I noticed. I gotta say you look terrific in it." - Tom _

"_What are you lookin at me like that for?" - Suzanne_

"_I- I don't know. You look real good, that's all." - Tom _

"_Well, you look pretty good yourself." - Suzanne_

"_Oh I can't help it." - Suzanne_

"_Hm?" - Tom _

"_I still like the old songs you know? New songs I don't even understand the words. I mean they have no, feeling you know? They have no tenderness. It's just not for me." - Suzanne_

There was something about the two characters, the fact that they were getting ready to dance together. It reminded him of when he and Norma still got along perfectly. Back before they moved.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Norma approaching the door to the office. Instantly he panicked as if he were watching porn or something illegal. He quickly and clumsily moved to click off the screen and slammed the laptop shut as his mother entered the room.

"Hello mother," he greeted.

Norma just looked to him, confused for a second before she headed to the back room and grabbed a few papers.

"I thought since Emma left, I would come down here in case you needed anything," she said as she headed towards the desk and laid the papers down before her.

All she wanted to do was make sure that she could be down there for when Dylan returned. She had to make sure that she could grab the bag from him and quickly go to hide it. The longer she had to wait for him, the more anxious she grew.

Leaning against the counter, she grabbed a pen and began to mindlessly skim the papers. Truthfully, she wasn't even all that sure of what it was that she was looking at. It could have been a bill, or a list of things that needed to be done. It didn't matter.

"I think I can handle sitting down here and waiting for a guest," Norman coldly stated.

Setting down the pen, she looked up to him. She hated the fact that he was still upset with her. She wanted to be able to tell him everything, but she couldn't. It would all only upset him, and in all honesty it wasn't something that she wanted to discuss.

"Norman, I'm sorry. Okay? I've been irritable lately and I know that I've been taking it out on you when I shouldn't be," she told him.

"Why won't you tell me what's going on?" He asked without so much as a pause.

"How would you be acting if you had someone like Caleb in your life and you suddenly found out that they had been staying in town without you even knowing? He could have ran off to live behind my dumpster for all I know," she lied. Norma took a couple of steps towards Norman, looking to him with genuine worry in her eyes. It wasn't for the reason that she had told him, but she was most certainly stressed. "I'm just jumpy, Norman. I'm scared."

Norman looked to her, going over her story in his mind. His expression softened as he began to feel bad for being mad at her. "Well, you don't have to be. I told you I wouldn't let anything happen and I won't," he assured her.

She forced a small smile as she went in and hugged him. "Thank you," she said.

Norman tightly gripped onto her as he returned the hug. He missed her, even if he thought she was playing games with him. He knew that she was pushing him out of her life. That was why he had to prove to her that he was the better son, that he was the better man to keep.

The hug was ended as soon as Dylan pulled into the parking lot. Norma quickly tore away from him and rushed out the door.

"Mother?" He called out to her as she left, taking only a few steps in her direction.

When it failed to grab her attention, he walked over to the window and began watching the scene outside.

Dylan had pulled up and got out of the car, the paper bag in his hand. As he was about to start heading up towards the house, he heard the door close and wheeled around to see Norma coming over to join him. Right behind her, he could see Emma pulling up to park. There was a small chance that she wasn't paying attention to what was happening, but he knew that she knew what was in that bag. And he didn't really care about Emma knowing, Norma would, but no one else had to know that Emma knew.

"Thank you," Norma said as she wrapped her arms around him, planting a small kiss on his cheek. She quickly grabbed the bag and continued on her way.

Emma stepped out of the car and started towards him. "Did she think there was something else in that bag?" She asked, knowing full well that Dylan would have stopped her if that bag wasn't for her.

He looked back to make sure that Norma was far enough away from them before he said anything. "You can't tell anyone, alright? Not even Norman. She doesn't want people knowing unless she knows for sure there's something to tell people about," he firmly informed her.

Emma nodded. "I won't tell anyone, I promise," she rushed to tell him. There was a small pause. "Is she okay with this?" She asked, glancing up to the house. She figured that Norma wasn't, she had been tense for a while. This explained why. She still had to ask though.

Dylan shook his head. "Look, just try and keep Norman busy for a bit," he said, looking up towards the house. He figured he ought to go see what was going on up there. He then returned his attention to Emma. "I'll let you know in a few minutes."

"Alright," she replied before watching start off towards the house.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Everything is Fine (part 1)

A hand lay rest over her abdomen as she stared at herself in the mirror, dull eyes looking back her. Her bleak future grew that much darker within moments. There was no denying this away, tucking it away in the corner until she could conveniently come back to it and deal with it when she was ready. This was a baby, and if that test came up positive, she was screwed.

Sighing, she opened the bag and pulled out the test. She wanted to take it as soon as possible, but there was some comfort in not knowing for sure. Right now she was able to deny the situation for a bit. There was no definite answer yet. On the other hand, she would feel a lot better knowing that there wasn't a baby.

As she was about to open the box, she heard a knock at the door. Norma paused, tightly closing her eyes for a second as she huffed. All she wanted was to get this over with and everything was about to get in her way. If there was a baby, the kid would probably be born by the time she got to take this test.

"I'm coming!" She harshly called as she left the room and started down the stairs.

As she reached the bottom, she saw Dylan heading from the kitchen towards the door. "Don't worry, I got it," she told him.

Dylan looked to her and sighed. In all honestly, he wanted her to find out already so that there would be a little less stress around her. "I got it mom. Just go back and upstairs."

"I'm already here," she sighed, annoyed as she went to open the door.

Dylan stood there as she threw open the door and plastered a fake smile on her face as soon as she saw who it was - Alex.

"Alex!" She squealed, causing Dylan to roll his eyes.

Alex stood there at the door, staring down towards the floor. "I'm afraid this isn't a social visit, Norma," he informed her.

Norma's demeanor fell as she stepped off to the side to allow him inside. Alex was someone that she had come to really like, and she felt safe with him. Right now she could really use someone that she felt safe with, someone that would make her feel as though everything would be all right. And with Alex at the door, she thought that he would be the one to get her through the day today. Arriving the way he did though, she was sure he was only coming to share bad news.

"What is it?" she questioned, anxiety rising within her.

Alex sighed, looking around the room. He then turned and looked to her, beginning to wonder why she attracted every bit of trouble that came into this town.

"Have you seen or heard from Caleb Calhoun lately?" He asked.

Both Dylan and Norma tensed up at the question. Dylan stepped closer to the two, stopping next to his mother who crossed her arms.

"No," Norma replied with a nervous laugh. "Why do you ask?"

Alex looked between the two. This family had the worst poker faces ever, he knew that the name had struck some kind of chord with them.

"Someone not too far from here had spotted him and called in a tip. He's wanted. I looked into him a little bit and it shows that you're his only living relatives. I thought I might give it a shot," he explained.

Norma quickly shook her head. "No," she sternly answered. "I haven't seen him recently and I don't plan on seeing him anytime soon."

At first, Alex simply thought they were probably just covering for the man, but now he was starting to wonder if maybe the announcement just worried them. There was something in Norma's demeanor that caught his attention, a small amount of panic.

"We just don't get along all that well," she lied, trying to force a small laugh.

Alex sighed, examining the room once more. He wasn't sure whether or not he should leave at this point. There was definitely something wrong here, but he figured that they weren't hiding him, he didn't have any reason to believe that they were. But he was starting to wonder if her safety was at risk.

"Alright," he said. "Call me if you do see him or hear anything," he instructed before turning to leave.

"I will," Norma coldly stated.

She wasn't all that sure as to why she answered the way that she did. It could have been the fact that she was still angry with him, and for good reason. What she did know for sure was that her tone caught the attention of the sheriff. He just stared to her as if he were expecting an explanation. One that she wasn't ready to offer.

"Is there anything else you needed?" She questioned, doing her best to soften her voice.

"No," he answered with a sigh. "I'll let you know if I hear anything though," he told her, figuring that with the way she reacted, it might be best to give her a small warning if he is spotted near by.

"Thank you," Norma replied, just wishing that he would leave so she could get back upstairs already.

"I'll see ya," he said before turning and leaving.

Once he was gone, Norma wheeled around and hurried towards the stairs. The anxiety was building within her and she knew that as soon as she got this over with, she would feel a lot better. All she had to do was take the test.

Dylan's eyes followed her as she climbed the first few steps, concerned about the news that he had just heard. He knew why Caleb was wanted, but he thought that Norma would have asked a few questions at least.

"Do you know what he's wanted for?" He questioned.

"I can't say I care," she responded without even stopping.

"Mother? We need to talk," Norman announced as she rushed into the house, slamming the door behind him.

Norma stopped, dead in her tracks. She was so close. Her head dropped slightly right before she turned around to see her son standing there, looking as though he expected some form of an explanation.

"What is it, Norman?" She asked.

"I have no idea what's going on here and I think I have a right to know. Now please. mother, I want to speak with you," Norman stated.

Ever since he had witnessed the scene through the window down in the office, he had felt more out of the loop than usual. He felt a pang of jealousy that was driving him mad. Even Emma seemed to have some understanding of the secret events occurring.

"Norman please," Norma nearly begged. "You're acting like a child. Now stop it."

Dylan just stood there, looking between the two as they spoke. He knew that maybe he should step in, occupy his brother for a moment and let her continue upstairs, but he didn't want to make things worse by implying that he knew something. That, and it was just weird the way that they got along. they acted more like a couple than mother and son and he wasn't sure that he wanted to step into that.

"Well maybe I wouldn't act like a child if I weren't treated like one," he insisted.

"I promoted you to manager because I thought you were mature enough to handle the job," she stated as she started back down the stairs. As she got towards the bottom she motioned towards him. "This display, this right here, tells me that I was wrong," she added.

"I'm sorry, mother. I just want to help," he told her, trying to calm himself. "But how would you feel if I started keeping everything a secret from you?"

"There aren't any secrets!" She argued as she went ahead and continued to the bottom step. "I feel like you want me to be hiding something from you."

Norman looked to her, unsure of what to say at this point. Of course he didn't really want her to be hiding something from him. He just felt that there was something huge going on behind his back. It made him feel paranoid, like they were planning to lock him up somewhere or something like that.

At that instant, his eyes widened with fear. There was a chill down his spine. It was the one thing that he thought she would never do, but it made all the sense in the world. He was getting worse and she was getting more and more worried. And it would be something that she and Dylan would be planning together.

"You're trying to get rid of me aren't you?" He asked, nervousness ringing clear in his tone. "You're going to lock me away somewhere aren't you?"

Norma's heart broke at the question, her expression softening. "No," she replied as she threw her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. "Of course not honey. I would never try to get rid of you."

Dylan stood back, watching the scene before was these moments that he felt as though maybe he was still the odd one out, and that maybe he was somewhat okay with that.

He did realize one thing though, that Norman might not be heading back to the office anytime soon. And it was pretty clear that he would not be too happy if he found out that Norma thought she might be pregnant. There would be a lot of questions and a lot of jealousy. So while he had his chance, he went up the stairs and to the bathroom where he grabbed the test and hid it.

Norma let out a silent breath of relief as she watched Dylan go up the stairs. She knew what it was that he was doing, and knowing that it would be out of sight for the moment did ease her anxiety a tiny bit.

"I don't want you ever worrying about me getting rid of you, all right?" She asked, pulling back from him.

Norman looked to her and nodded. There was still something that was off about the whole thing, but he decided that maybe he should just let it go. She assured him that there would be nothing happening to him, and he believed it. However, that didn't mean that he wasn't still upset.

"You promise that you won't?" He asked, trying to get some reassurance.

"I won't, I promise," she told him. She quickly shifted from concern to fidgety as she grabbed his hands and started guiding him towards the door. "So now that that's taken care of, I think you should get back down to the office."

"But mother…" He argued, wanting to stay and talk to her.

"We'll talk over dinner, all right?" She offered, practically shoving him out the door.

Norman left, the door being closed before he had a chance to say anything. He just stood there a moment, blankly staring at the door. He wanted to yell, to say something, to knock on the door and storm back inside. There was something that kept him from doing so though. It were as though he knew that he would get back at her for all of this in time.

Inside, Norma quickly made her way back up the stairs, only stopping before the bathroom door.

"Where'd you put it?" She called.

Dylan, who was back in his room, sat up and started towards the door. "Check the clothes hamper!" He then made sure to remain by his door for a moment in case he needed to go help her find it.

"Thank you!" She yelled, signifying that she had found it.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Everything is Fine (part 2)

Positive.

She wasn't sure what to do with this as she just stood there, staring down to the test as though the answer would change. There was a part of her that truly believed that it might, that maybe she was reading it wrong or that it was just giving her a brief false reading.

"Shit," she hissed to herself, finally realizing that this was not going to change.

Huffing, she tossed the test carelessly into the trash. All she wanted was to get out of here, to do something to take her mind off of what she had just seen. As she was about to walk out of the bathroom though, she remembered that she didn't want anyone seeing that test.

Quickly, she rushed back and retrieved the stick, stuffing it into her pocket. She mentally cursed herself for almost being so careless. Her next few moves here would have to very planned out and careful. Of course, that would have to all wait until she had her chance to run away from everything for a few hours.

Norma rushed out the door and made her way down the stairs. She had to get out of here. That was the only important thing right now. She had to get out of this place before she drove herself crazy.

Dylan stood there, in the doorway to his room as he watched the scene unfold before him. He figured out what was going on, but had no idea what to do or what to say. As soon as she was gone, he went back into his room, knowing that there wasn't much of anything he could do to get her to calm herself.

Norman however, caught her as she was climbing into her car. He could see through the window how upset she was and instantly went out to try and catch her.

"Mother!" He yelled as he ran.

"Not now Norman!" She harshly replied before she slammed the door.

Norman went to run after the car, but it was no use, she sped off down the street. "Mother!" He tried calling out once more as if she could actually hear him.

He just stood there, paralyzed. He wasn't sure what to do now that she had just run out like that. Part of him was sure that she wouldn't return. It was silly, but it was a legitimate fear to him.

oooooo

Norma drove down to the beach. She didn't want to get out of the car, she just sat there and stared blankly out towards the ocean. It wasn't doing much to calm her, but anything was better than sitting in that house.

The sun was beginning to set, casting a variety of colors on both the sky and the water. To many this would be considered a beautiful scene, to her though it was only a reminder that this place would close soon and she would have to drive off and find somewhere new, anywhere to avoid going home.

There was a knock at the window that brought her back to reality with a jolt. She was about to begin yelling as she turned to roll down the window, but she stopped as soon as she saw that it was Alex standing outside. He looked rather concerned, well, as concerned as he could look.

"I'm sorry, am I not supposed to be parked here? I didn't see any signs," she stated.

The sheriff held up his hand to stop her. "I was just wondering if everything was okay," he told her.

Norma sat back in her seat, sighing. He wasn't a threat here, if anything he had been the one helping her.

"Climb in," she told him as she motioned to the seat next to her.

Alex stood up and looked around, trying to decide whether or not he really wanted to do this. "I have work to do." he told her in protest.

"Please?" She implored.

He knew that he shouldn't. Only bad things came of being with this woman. He knew that she was going to try and talk him into doing something for her or somehow convince him to help her. Even if she didn't come out and request it, he would end up doing something foolish for her.

"Alright," he sighed.

Defeated, he went around the car and sat in the passenger seat.

There was a second of silence as Norma sat there and gathered her words. Once she did, she looked to him, apprehensively.

"This isn't the first time that Caleb's done anything," she stated.

Alex's interested was piqued as he watched her look away from him. She was nervous and it looked as though she wasn't sure she even wanted to continue on with what she had to say.

She began to play with her purse strap as she started to speak. "When we were younger, sometimes our parents would bring us to visit to our Aunt Mary and our Uncle Mike. They had a bit of money and their daughter Suzy got everything she wanted."

Her eyes moved to watch him, see how he was reacting to the whole thing so far. There wasn't much that had been said, but she felt as though she had already said too much. Even if he had started earning her trust, there would always be that paranoia that lurked within her whenever she said anything about her life.

"I used to have this dream that someday I would end up on stage, you know? Theater, Broadway. I took all the dance lessons I could sang all the time. Suzy was the same and she was the one that got to go away to a school that I had idolized for the longest time. It was over in Europe though. Most parent would have said that that was too far away for their liking, mine simply said that it was too much money." She paused, taking a deep breath as she stared forward to watch as the sky grew darker.

"Caleb knew I was jealous, hell everyone knew I was jealous. We decided we were going to get back at her, and I thought that meant putting gum in her hair or embarrassing her."

"It was more than that?" He asked, growing concerned. He had a good idea of where this was going, but he wanted to hear it just to make sure.

Norma nodded. "A week later it was all over the news, Suzy Banyon found dead," she informed him.

Looking to him, she thickly swallowed, a wry half smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "They actually thought that she had fallen. Her body was found at the bottom of cliff near where a lot of kids played, it made sense."

Alex looked forward, nodding. "So he got away with it."

"I just wanted you to know that," she explained.

The sheriff looked to, concerned. There was a moment of silence allowed before he decided to ask her. "Has he ever done anything to you?"

Her mouth hung agape as she was about to say something. The words wouldn't come though. "No," she flatly answered.

Oooooo

Norman scrambled up the stairs, rushing to Norma's room to make sure that she hadn't taken everything with her. It was silly, but there was this fear that was dwelling within him. It was getting to the point where every time she left this house that he wondered if she would just leave for good.

He could hear Dylan yelling for him, and possibly Emma, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to make sure that he saw that her stuff was still there.

Getting into her room, he rushed around, searching through the closet and the drawers. Then he rushed over to the bathroom, passing a confused Dylan and Emma as they watched.

Emma was about to follow him into the bathroom, but Dylan put out his hand to stop her. He knew that Norman was freaking out and what was going on right now. He just needed his space. He just needed to get it out of his system.

"Wait here," he told her as he went and headed for the bathroom, Emma following him despite his instructions.

"Norman?" He asked, the room too silent for his liking.

He saw his brother sitting on the floor staring at the box that the pregnancy test had come in. He was just sitting there, eyes widened with fear. He could hear Dylan speaking, but it was all muffled.

It didn't matter what he was saying anyways. That was the last thing that he remembered before he blacked out.

oooooo

"I am not gonna lock him up in some Goddamn asylum!"

Norman awoke to his mother's screaming over the phone. It wasn't uncommon for her to get upset, angry. She was known to lose her temper. This time though, there was an underlying fear, it sounded like she was panicking. It was putting him on edge.

"And I don't care what you call it! I'm not putting him away!"

Where they wanting to lock him away somewhere? He sat up, his head swimming as he tried to remember what was happening.

"You're sorry? Jesus Christ, eighty eight doctors and all you can tell me with your bullshit is…"

What had he done to need to see that many doctors? The last thing he remembered being in the bathroom, seeing the test. Did he do something after that?

"Mother?" He called, getting to his feet.

The room was spinning. He only made it to the doorway before he had to stop and hold onto the wall to steady himself. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach. There was this feeling of dread.

He proceeded down the hall with caution. The stairs were easier than he thought they would be, as long as he made sure to keep his eyes focused on the ground. There were sounds coming from the basement. Anxiety rose within him as he wondered what could be going on with his animals, his livelihood. He quickened his pace, making his way to the basement entrance as fast as he possibly could. His chest tightened, making it harder for him to breathe.

"What are you doing?" He angrily demanded as he swung open the door.

Down where his work area used to be, there was a table set. Norma walking around in her apron, serving dinner as a man sat at the table. He couldn't quite make out who it was yet.

"What's going on?" Norman questioned, more confused than anything.

Norma turned and smiled to him. "I've been calling for you. Dinner's ready," she informed him.

He got to the bottom of the stairs and saw that it was Caleb who was sitting in the chair. He was the one with the place set next to where Norma was taking her seat. That image was enough to make his blood boil.

"Come on Norman. Get over here before it gets cold," Norma urged him.

Norman went and sat down across from Norma. Both Norma and Caleb had what looked like miniature chickens on their plates with mashed potatoes. All he had was a small white bowl about half the size of his hand. It was white and the fact that it wasn't perfectly smooth left him nauseous. Inside of it was a red-ish soup.

He looked up and saw Caleb take the gravy boat and start to pour it on his plate. It all seemed to be landing at the base of the chicken, right between the legs. It was frustrating and he wasn't sure why. Maybe because it seemed like a waste?

Norman's eyes were glued to the container as Caleb handed it off to Norma.

"You took all of it!" Norma announced, visibly annoyed.

"Damn it Caleb!" She scolded, standing up from the table and slamming the glassware harshly onto the table. She stormed off, going up the stairs. He could hear her sobbing.

Caleb just sat there at the table, eating his dinner as if nothing was wrong. He didn't say anything, he didn't even look up from his plate.

Norman stood to his feet, his anger growing more and more intense. He rushed up the stairs and headed to the kitchen. He froze in the doorway, anxiety overcoming him. A cold chill traveled down his spine as his eyes scanned the empty room.

"It's okay, Norman. You took care of the problem."

He wheeled around, his eyes widening at the sight of his mother in a skimpy red, lace slip that hugged her form perfectly. There was blood splattered over most of her body, dripping from her fingertips. A sinister smirk on her face.

"Mother?" He asked, his mouth hanging agape.

Norma took another step towards him, closing the space between them. "Stop worrying so much," she said with a small laugh. "You got rid of the problem Norman. You did what you had to do."

Norma reached, cupping his face in her hands. She leaned in and planted a passionate kiss on his lips. At first Norman wanted to back away, to fight, but it was all too comfortable. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

He bit her bottom, taking in the little droplets of splattered blood. He wanted to question her, but it would ruin the moment. Closing his eyes, he went on for a deeper kiss, running his fingers through her blonde curls.

"Norman!"

The yell pierced through the silence, jarring Norman awake. His eyes burst open to see his mother beneath him. He couldn't tell if she looked more scared or angry. There was a weakness to her features that suddenly startled him. If she were scared, there was probably something that he should be fearing right now. It was almost instinct to him to feel that way.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Norma finally asked, her voice cracking.

This was how she woke up, him kneeling over her, his hands clamped on her shoulders. He was pinning her down, but she wasn't sure why, all she knew was that his nails were digging into her flesh and that his expressionless face was something that she would never forget.

She was down on the floor, her back feeling bruised. She would have yelled earlier, but the wind had been knocked out of her.

Norman stopped, realizing what he was doing. His entire body froze, his grip loosened.

"I-I'm sorry, mother," he said, his voice shaky.


End file.
